Purple gray snake has been included in the List of Beneficial or Important Economic and Scientific Research Terrestrial Wild Animals Protected by the State issued by the State Forestry Administration of China on August 1, 2000. Haslisted in the 2013 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species ver3. 1 - near threatened (NT). Includedin China's Biodiversity Red List - Vertebrate Volume, Assessment Class is Vulnerable (VU).

In recent years, due to deforestation or construction, its habitat has been reduced, and the number of purple gray snakes has also decreased significantly. The purple-grey brocade snake lives in forest margins, roadsides, farmlands, streams and residential areas in mountainous areas with an altitude of 200 to 2400 meters, and mainly feeds on small rodents.